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Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

nytimes.com

191–200 of 663 posts

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#191
I'm really looking forward to this. As far as I can tell, no restaurant or store sells Impossible burgers in my city or anywhere in reasonable driving distance, so this will be my first opportunity to try one. If they're as good as people tend to think they are, I'll have no issue moving my whopper habit over to these :D

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#192

I'd like to add that I see a lot of people saying, "If you're vegetarian/vegan why are you going Burger King?" - Well, I don't go often, but on the off chance that I'm with some friends and they go to a fast-food restaurant, it's much easier and less awkward if there's something I can eat too.

I go because it's quick, easy, and quite cheap (€2 for a veggie burger in Germany). For 4 bucks I'm full. Kebab is slightly more expensive and has meat, pizza is more expensive (also if you pick it up), and chinese/thai/vietnamese takeaway is more expensive. The snackbar (frituur) might come close, but those don't seem to exist outside of NL/BE.

I'm not actually vegetarian, but trying to eat less meat, mcdonald's makes that extremely easy. When we go, it's quite a no-brainer to take that option.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#193
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't been able to compare the Impossible Burger. I had a Beyond Burger, and it was very good. If somebody were to hand it to a meat eater at a cookout, without calling attention to it, they'd eat it without noticing the switch. Pile on a few toppings (which people usually do because of the flavorless nature of most fast-food and grocery-store beef), and most people would be hard pressed to tell the difference in…

You are correct on all points, in my experience. That said, those of us that DO miss some level of meat simulacra (great phrase!) will appreciate this. I lost the taste for actual red meat over 20 years ago, but the texture is still something that has few parallels. Between the hardcore beef aficionados wanting nothing to do with "fake meat" and the hardcore vegetarians/vegans happy to consume veggies I find bland or…

My partner picked up two Beyond Burgers and a bunch of Beyond Sausages at the local supermarket, and one of the cheap supermarkets to boot!

I hope you are able to find some soon. Home cooking definitely delivers a better experience than Carl's (at least at my house).

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#194

Are they cooked separately from the meat burgers? Some people don’t care, but some definitely do. Carl’s Jr. doesn’t keep their Beyond Burgers separate, apparently.

Just out of interest, what's the reasoning behind a strict separation of the two? I understand it in the case of gluten free products because that can really have health implications, but when you are vegan for ethical reasons it shouldn't make a difference, right?

But I'd say this is great news either way. I like meat, but when there's a way to get the same taste and texture without the bad consequences for animals and environment I'm all for it, and I'm sure many others are the same.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#195

I'd like to add that I see a lot of people saying, "If you're vegetarian/vegan why are you going Burger King?" - Well, I don't go often, but on the off chance that I'm with some friends and they go to a fast-food restaurant, it's much easier and less awkward if there's something I can eat too.

I think impossible foods is primarily targeting meat eaters who want to cut back on consumption. They go to lots of effort to replicate taste of meat.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#196
post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because when people talk about "chemicals", they are often flirting with the appeal-to-nature fallacy ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_nature ).

Given the nature of evolution, I think that the appeal to nature in nutrition is a much more substantive argument than can be immediately dismissed. Grossly speaking, natural foods have also existed for longer and been better studied, meaning we are more likely to know about the impact of natural foods than newer foods that aren't yet common to our diet. While "better because natural" isn't some infallible nutritiona…

Nature has also evolved lots of stuff that would kill you. And many things that are just plain unhealthy. And even those foods you consider 'natural' are highly evolved plants that have been optimized for human consumption by generations of humans. There is very little natural about many of the fruits and vegetables we eat that are actually truly natural.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#197
post #16

Impossible burgers are awesome and I've had quite a few. It also really depends on how it's made and how it's dressed up - as with any burger. My only lingering issue is that it is a highly processed food, and psychologically it helps to know what you're eating.

> My only lingering issue is that it is a highly processed food

As is a huge portion of the food consumed by people today, including things that are marketed as forms of meat. The difference here is that the climate impact of mass-production of beef and the associated mass scale animal cruelty is mitigated.

Quoting from one of my favorite recent commentators on this subject (https://granolashotgun.com/2019/03/12/bite-me/):

"If you think all this talk of laboratory food is ridiculous or unappealing you really need to spend some time discovering where your current food supply comes from. Most of the nitrogen molecules in your body right now were created in a factory using the Haber Bosch method. Natural gas is used to fix atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form needed by plants. Enormous amounts of this synthetic fertilizer is what makes it possible to feed seven billion people. Take away that factory made nitrogen and our crop yields would drop like a stone. Without Haber Bosch nitrogen half the humans on the planet would starve to death. Synthetic food grown in fermentation vats is just a matter of cutting out the inefficient middle steps of agriculture. Like it or not it’s coming to fish sticks, chicken nuggets, and meatballs near you. And you might not even notice."

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#199

I'd like to add that I see a lot of people saying, "If you're vegetarian/vegan why are you going Burger King?" - Well, I don't go often, but on the off chance that I'm with some friends and they go to a fast-food restaurant, it's much easier and less awkward if there's something I can eat too.

Same. When traveling with a group of friends, fast food is sometimes the easiest thing to do. I've gotten lucky recently as some of the breakfast basics are still available at night.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#200

The Impossible Burger is the best veggie burger I've ever had. I was a vegetarian for 10 years, and have now been a pescatarian for 8 years. It has been 18 years since I have had a proper cheeseburger, and since then I have had many thousands of veggie burgers. Cheeseburgers are probably my favorite food, and I haven't had one in 18 years. If someone told me that the world would end tomorrow, I would go out and eat a…

what's your motivation for eating fish/vegetarian? it sounds like you really want meat and your current situation is a kind of sacrifice?
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